The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 4

THE GUARDIAN Thursday May 13 1993 4 HOME NEWS Drug gangs relish with death' 0" Ounoan CamptMll Crlnw Convapondont RUG gangs not afraid or arrest, prison or even death were now operating in the inner- cities, the Association of Chief Police Ofricers drugs conference at Preston, Lancashire, was told yesterday. Automatic weapons that gave 'status" to dealers were now being found and inter-gang shootings were on the increase. Detective superintendent Peter Brennan, of the Greater Manchester drugs squad, said: "The gangs actually enjoy the buzz that comes from the fear of being shot at or the sense of power when carrying a gun. rney love waucuig about with a gun on them. They revel in the respect that goes with havine money, access to drugs and a gun.

They love to pose or posture; their sense of well-being comes from 'status'." Status-consciousness and gang mentality seemed to dominate the minds of criminal ele ments in Moss Side and other parts of Manchester. He was in no doubt that there was a major threat to public safety and stability in inner-city areas. Young drug dealers wanted to get their Vodaphones, their mountain bikes and their street credibility, he said. "The next step is the Golf GTi and the gun. That is, if he survives as a Police officers file past a memorial to Sgt Alan King, killed In Walthamstow, east London, in 1991.

It was unveiled yesterday by Kenneth Clarke, the Home Secretary photograph: graham king Clarke blames 'liberals and socialists' for hard core of youth crime and defends new secure units tions, according to Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Paul Condon. He told senior officers that "only 7 per cent of cases are discontinued because of public interest considerations, the rest are because the paperwork is lousy and investigations are His comments, reported in an internal document, which was leaked, were believed to be to staff from the Met's public affairs directorate. today, Mr Clarke said, there would be accusations of inappropriate use of force, and wasting police time and resources. He concluded: "We have come a long way from when social control was pervasive, consensual, low-key and good-humoured. This means we have to work even harder in facing and beating crime." The vast majority of cases dropped by the police are due to poor paperwork and investiga Clarke attacked "liberals and socialists" who had undermined approved schools and borstals, leaving those who lived on estates to put up with a hard core of offenders.

He cited the story of a 12-year-old boy caught smoking 40 years ago by a policeman who grappled him to the ground when he tried to run off. The boy was later given a clip round the ear by his father. If these events were repeated feel that somebody has got their just desserts. "I am not as concerned as some about the size of the prison population. It should be driven by the decision of the courts to send people to prison," said Mr Clarke in barely-veiled criticism of the act which was put on the statute book by his predecessors.

Justifying the introduction of secure training units for persistent juvenile offenders, Mr it within their power to pass a sentence which right-thinking and reasonable members of the public will think is fair and just retribution." After a barrage of criticism from judges and magistrates over the income-related unit fine system and the ban on taking previous convictions into account in minor cases, Mr Clarke said: "Civilised society requires a disciplined society, and that is created when people Alan Travis Home Affairs Editor KENNETH Clarke, the Home Secretary, last night blamed "liberal undermining" of approved schools for the hard core of young offenders. Foreshadowing amendents to the Criminal Justice Act in the autumn, he told a Conservative Political Centre meeting in Edinburgh: "Judges must have Lack of liaison 'doubling work' BeEP OK) fflfijMBQ Dunean Campboll CO-OPERATION between police and Customs in drugs investigations has become so disorganised that they frequently target the same dealer, unaware of each other's involvement, it was claimed yesterday. Months could be spent by police in pursuing drug dealers, only for them to discover that Customs officers had been carrying out a parallel investigation, Detective Constable Tina Britton told the conference. She said one in three operations was duplicated unnecessarily. "Each has different terms of reference and each pursues its individual policy," said Ms Britton, of No.

3 Regional Crime Squad drugs wing, based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. "Closer liaison would prove most beneficial, as well as a total sharing of intelligence and information. There was no room for individual hang-ups. It was for management to stamp on those who for personal reasons were dice sole trader in an area increasingly dominated by gangs." Mr Brennan told the confer ence that a significant number of Jamaican criminals were regularly visiting Britain under assumed names, using false passports. Some had established themselves in London and in northern cities and were bringing the practices of drug dealers in the United States to the streets of Britain.

A total of 27 guns had been seized in Moss Side since March 1990, he said, 14 of them this year. The weapons included a fully automatic Uzi and a Thompson sub machine-gun. There had been 60 shootings in the district since last August. "Cold steel is still a favoured weapon," said Mr Brennan. The weapons used were knives and machetes but it was becoming popular for dealers to distance themselves from contact with their victims by using a gun.

Mr Brennan suggested that one possible solution was for teams of police ofricers, council workers, social workers and a range of skilled people to "explode" in a given area, having warned dealers that they were coming to clean up the district and restore a sense of pride. He also called for mandatory five-year sentences for possession of firearms if the offender had previously been convicted of drug offences. not entering fully into the spirit of joint operations, she said. Ms Britton told the conference there was still a tendency for officers to work outside the system and fail to share valuable information. That failure had a damaging effect on drugs squad work throughout the country.

Ms Britton said the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), set up last year, failed to provide comprehensive intelligence. The system for presenting such information needed improving, she said. She also told the conference that money being paid to drug informants was totally inadequate. In her own regional crime squad, 30,000 was divided between 473 people, an average of 63.43 each. Three out of four of her arrests came through informants, she said, which illustrated how important they were.

But they were becoming increasingly unwilling to risk their lives for such small amounts. A spokesman for the NCIS said the criticisms would be examined. north London, pleaded guilty to helping manage a brothel for homosexuals in Earls Court, west London, under the guise of a massage parlour where he was receptionist Mr Maher commented: "It is a matter of great regret to me that my discretion in dealing with this by way of a realistic fine has been taken away by Parliament." Minutes later Ravinder Sadhar appeared before Mr Maher, and pleaded guilty to driving her Ford Escort without due care and attention after she did a U-turn over an island in central London. Mrs Sadhar, a catering assistant earning 221 a week, from Slough, Berkshire, faced a fine of 1,000, since her disposable income was "in excess" of 100 a week. But after her outgoings were considered, the fine was reduced.

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